NOODLES

On the long-awaited new album from punk rock stars The Offspring, guitarist Noodles has used a ton of gear – new and vintage – while channelling the Ramones, The Who and AC/DC. But even for this battle‐hardened punk hero, playing fast downstrokes isn’t easy. As he admits to TG: “It hurts!”

Words Jonny Scaramanga Portrait Daveed Benito

Besides Green Day, no band did more to take punk into the mainstream in the 90s than The Offspring, whose breakout hit, 1994’s (Smash, became the world’s best-selling album on an independent label. In a career spanning 37 years, the band has now sold more than 40 million records. So perhaps they’ve earned the right to take it easy. But still,nine years between albums is not very punk rock, is it?

Guitarist Noodles, talking from the band’s Huntington Beach studio where Let The Bad Times Roll was recorded, explains the delay. “I think part of it was we didn’t want to put anything out until we knew we had something good,” he says. The band’s enthusiasm for touring also interrupted sessions. “We go our separate ways and then revisit what we got. Coming back with fresh ears helps. We just love making music, man! We love playing together, love listening to music. All that helps us keep doing what we what we do.”